Chris Slade, who is technically still the drummer of AC/DC – although Phil Rudd was recently spotted around the studio with Angus Young, Stevie Young, and Brian Johnson – talked about his return to the fold back in 2015.

Chris first joined the band in 1989 as a replacement for Simon Wright. In 1994, he was replaced by classic AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd, whom he then replaced in 2015.

Did you expect them to call you back [in 2015]?

“No, no. It was a complete surprise. I was actually working with Timeline in Switzerland when I got the call from the manager. And I said, ‘Does this come from the guys? Do they want me to play drums?’ ‘Yeah.’ It was a complete surprise. A very nice and welcome surprise, but a surprise nevertheless.”

Did you have an audition for the comeback?

“No. They didn’t even audition Phil when he came back in [in 1994]. And they should have. [Laughs] I’m sorry, but that’s true. [Laughs]”

How do you feel about all the recent lineup changes in AC/DC?

“It’s different, obviously. It can’t be the same, except the music is the same. The only thing that changes is the singer. And Axl [Rose] did a great job. He did an amazing job, actually.

“People sometimes listen with their prejudice. And people also listen with their eyes, they don’t use these [ears] sometimes. They just use this [eyes], or like, ‘Eh, I don’t like him.’

“It doesn’t happen so much now, but when I got back in, it was, ‘Ah, Slade can’t play drums. He’s useless. He’s absolutely useless drummer. He should go and have lessons so he can play like Phil.’ That happened a lot.

“And it’s like, people are listening with this [eyes] and going, ‘I don’t like him.’ They don’t listen with their ears. I understand people’s prejudice, but yeah…

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